A fascinating chronicle of a nation's turbulent history.

Reaching back to earliest times, Martin Ewans examines the historical evolution of one of today's most dangerous breeding grounds of global terrorism. After a succession of early dynasties and the emergence of an Afghan empire during the eighteenth century, the nineteenth and early twentieth century saw a fierce power struggle between Russia and Britain for supremacy in Afghanistan that was ended by the nation's proclamation of independence in 1919. A communist coup in the late 1970s overthrew the established regime and led to the invasion of Soviet troops in 1979. Roughly a decade later, the Soviet Union withdrew, condemning Afghanistan to a civil war that tore apart the nation's last remnants of religious, ethnic, and political unity. It was into this climate that the Taliban was born.

Today, war-torn and economically destitute, Afghanistan faces unique challenges as it looks toward an uncertain future. Martin Ewans carefully weighs the lessons of history to provide a frank look at Afghanistan's prospects and the international resonances of the nation's immense task of total political and economic reconstruction.

The three decades between 1865 and 1895 marked a particularly contentious period in the relationship between Britain and Russia in Central Asia, which more than once brought them to the verge of war. Moderates tried to settle the problem by the negotiation of 'neutral zones', or firm boundaries, but the issue was complicated by misreading of intentions, much internal confusion and dispute, and considerable ignorance of the geographical and geopolitical factors involved. This careful and detailed analysis examines the strategic thinking and diplomatic discourse which underlay the whole period, and in particular of the succession of efforts to establish a frontier, which eventually brought the period to a close without a major confrontation being provoked. Based on relevant records in the PRO and the British Library, as well as private papers, press comment, parliamentary debates and other contemporary accounts, Sir Martin Ewans provides a 'history of thought' of this crucial period in Central Asia. He provides an insight into the manner in which issues of war and peace were handled in the 19th Century and a fascinating case study of a great power relationship prior to the First World War. An important contribution to the study of Asian history, Tsarist Russia, imperial history and the history of British India, this book will also be of interest in India and Pakistan as a study of the events that led to the definition and consolidation of their northern frontiers.

Contents:
Volume 1
1. The Earl of Mornington to General Craig, 16 September 1798.
A request for advice on how best to counter a possible invasion from Zaman Shah of Afghanistan.
2. General Craig to the Earl of Mornington, 6 October 1798.
An adumbration of a 'forward policy' in dealing with a threat from the Northwest.
3. Henry Dundas to Lord Grenville, 13 June 1798.
An assessment of the French threat to India.
4. John Malcolm to Lord Elgin, 22 March 1801.
An assessment of the possibility of a Russian invasion of India.
5. Count F. V. Rastopchin, Note concerning the political relations of Russia during the last months of the reign of Paul I, St Petersburg, 1800.
A view of the political relations of Russia during the reign of Tsar Paul I.
6. Tsar Paul I, Personal Supreme Rescripts by his Imperial Majesty Paul I, to the Ataman of the Don Cossack Troops Cavalry General Vasilii Petrovich Orlov, Relating to the Expedition to India, St Petersburg, 1801.
Orders for an invasion of India.
7. Mr. Harford Jones to Sir Hugh Inglis, 29 November 1802.
The British Minister in Baghdad warns of the possibility of a joint Franco-Russian invasion of India.
8. Napoleon, Instructions for General Gardane, 10 May 1807.
Orders to the Head of a French Mission to Persia.
9. The Secret Committee of the Court of Directors, East India Company, to Lord Minto, 27 September 1807.
An assessment of the combined Franco-Russian threat to India following the Treaty of Tilsit.
10. William Moorcroft. Excerpts from Diaries.
Reports of Russian agents in Ladakh, Kashgar and Bokhara, 1812-1824.
11. G. S. Vinskii, Project concerning the consolidation of Russian trade with Upper Asia
through Khiva and Bokhara, 1818.
A review of Russian Policy towards Central Asia.
12. Lord Ellenborough, Despatch to Lord Minto, 12 January 1830.
The Board of Control of the East India Company expresses concern to the Governor General about Russian designs in Central Asia.
13. Lord Heytesbury, Despatch to Lord Aberdeen, 18 January 1830.
H. M. Ambassador at St. Petersburg advises that he sees no prospect of Russia being able to march an army to India.
14. C. E. Trevelyan and Arthur Conolly, Despatch to Lord Bentinck, 15 March 1831. Advice on the likelihood of a Russian invasion of India.
15. Secret Committee, Despatch to Lord Auckland, 25 June 1836.
The Secret Committee of the East India Company's Board of Control prompts and authorizes the Governor-General to initiate the First Anglo-Afghan War.
16. Lord Auckland, Minute, 12 May 1838.
The Governor-General gives his reasons for the invasion of Afghanistan.
17. Richmond Shakespear, A personal narrative of a journey from Heraut to Ourenbourg on the Caspian, 1840.
An account of Shakespear's mission to Khiva.
18. Charles Metcalfe, Extracts from papers, 1830-33.
An argument against the 'forward policy' and observation of the vulnerability of the British position in India.
Volume 2.
Henry Pottinger, Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde.
Volume 3.
1. J. Macdonald Kinneir, A Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire.
2. J. Macdonald Kinneir, A Dissertation on the Invasion of India.
Volume 4.
Robert Wilson, A Sketch of the Military and Political Power of Russia in the year 1817.
Volume 5.
1. Nikolai N. Muraviev, Journey to Khiva through the Turkoman Country, 1819-20.
2. Baron von Meyendorf, A Journey from Orenburg to Bokhara in the Year 1820.
Volume 6.
George de Lacy Evans, On the Practicability of an Invasion of British India.
Volume 7.
John MacNeill, The Progress and Present Position of Russia in the East.
Volume 8.
General Perovski, A Narrative of the Russian Military Expedition to Khiva in 1839.

There is a broad consensus among those who are concerned with Africa that the plight of the continent is approaching the catastrophic. Partly the roots of the problem are historical, stemming from the exploitation and colonisation of the continent by European powers. An appreciation of the history of the relationship between Europe and Africa, a major episode of which this book examines, is indispensable to an understanding of the continent's present predicament. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries King Leopold II of the Belgians established a colony in Africa, which, as the Congo Free State, became a byword for unremitting exploitation and widespread atrocities. This book describes the creation, the development and the collapse both of this regime and of the Belgian colony that replaced it. Conclusions are drawn about the nature of European colonialism in Africa and the consequences for Europe itself.

In the wake of the attacks of 11 September 2001, and during the ensuing invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, much has been heard of the concept of 'asymmetric warfare'. Broadly speaking, this describes a means of fighting through which a weaker power can offset or neutralize the strengths of a more powerful opponent by applying its own strengths to its opponent's weaknesses. Frequently, it is used to describe situations in which formal state power is confronted by non-state or guerrilla activity. Afghanistan features as the focus of this book's investigation since the country has recently been at the hub of confrontations which have borne immediately on current international concerns. It has also, for more than a century and a half, been the arena for a series of conflicts between imperial powers on the one hand and state and non-state power structures on the other. Afghans, moreover, have not changed their spots: they remain basically the same, in terms of personality and society, as they were when they were first described by a British envoy, Mountstewart Elphinstone, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Since that time, the confrontations with which Afghanistan was involved have not only brought repeated misery upon its people, but have had ramifications of an international character. This book deals with each of the five conflicts in which Afghanistan has been embroiled during this time span, namely the First, Second and Third Anglo-Afghan Wars, the Soviet invasion and the most recent American-led operations.

Contents:
List of Illustrations List of Maps Introduction: The Land and the People 1. Early History 2. The Emergence of the Afghan Kingdom 3. The Rise of Dost Mohammed 4. The First Anglo-Afghan War 5. Dost Mohammad and Sher Ali 6. The Second Anglo-Afghan War 7. Abdur Rahman, The 'Iron Amir' 8. Habibullah and the Politics of Neutrality 9. Amaah and the Drive for Modernisation 10. The Rule of the Brothers 11. Daoud: The First Decade 12. King Zahir and Cautious Constitutionalism 13. The Return of Daoud and the Saur Revolution 14. Khalq Rule and Soviet Invasion 15. Occupation and Resistance 16. Humiliation and Withdrawal 17. Civil War 18. Enter the Taliban 19. Afghanistan and the Wider World 20. The Taliban and the Future Appendix: The Durrani Dynasty Notes Bibliography Indexnull

There is a broad consensus among those who are concerned with Africa that the plight of the continent is approaching the catastrophic. Partly the roots of the problem are historical, stemming from the exploitation and colonisation of the continent by European powers. An appreciation of the history of the relationship between Europe and Africa, a major episode of which this book examines, is indispensable to an understanding of the continent's present predicament. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries King Leopold II of the Belgians established a colony in Africa, which, as the Congo Free State, became a byword for unremitting exploitation and widespread atrocities. This book describes the creation, the development and the collapse both of this regime and of the Belgian colony that replaced it. Conclusions are drawn about the nature of European colonialism in Africa and the consequences for Europe itself.

Asymmetric warfare, involving conflicts where smaller powers apply their strengths against the weaknesses of a more powerful opponent, has become a key modern concern since the September 11th attacks. Conflict in Afghanistan tackles this issue by examining the five wars Afghanistan has waged against foreign powers over the past two centuries, all of which have involved forms of asymmetric warfare.

Incorporating contemporary documents and material from Soviet archives, the text analyzes each war s antecedents, conduct, and consequences. Important questions are asked about the role of religious beliefs, fanaticism, diplomacy, governmental decision-making and military competence, issues that have great contemporary relevance. The book provides an illuminating commentary of Afghanistan s wars and examines the relevance of these conflicts to the modern-day challenge of counter-insurgency and asymmetric warfare.

The three decades between 1865 and 1895 marked a particularly contentious period in the relationship between Britain and Russia in Central Asia, which more than once brought them to the verge of war. Moderates tried to settle the problem by the negotiation of ?neutral zones?, or firm boundaries, but the issue was complicated by misreading of intentions, much internal confusion and dispute, and considerable ignorance of the geographical and geopolitical factors involved.

This careful and detailed analysis examines the strategic thinking and diplomatic discourse which underlay the whole period, and in particular of the succession of efforts to establish a frontier, which eventually brought the period to a close without a major confrontation being provoked. Based on relevant records in the PRO and the British Library, as well as private papers, press comment, parliamentary debates and other contemporary accounts, Sir Martin Ewans provides a ?history of thought' of this crucial period in Central Asia. He provides an insight into the manner in which issues of war and peace were handled in the 19th Century and a fascinating case study of a great power relationship prior to the First World War. An important contribution to the study of Asian history, Tsarist Russia, imperial history and the history of British India, this book will also be of interest in India and Pakistan as a study of the events that led to the definition and consolidation of their northern frontiers.

Sir Martin Ewans, former Head of the British Chancery in Kabul, puts into an historical and contemporary context the series of tragic events that have impinged on Afghanistan in the past fifty years. The book examines the roots of these developments in Afghanistan's earlier history and external relationships, as well as their contemporary relevance, internally, regionally, and globally. The book also reviews in details the emergence of the Taliban, their ideology and their place within Islam, and examines Afghanistan's relevance in global issues, notably the nature of Islamic extremism, the international drugs trade and international terrorism. It ends with an analysis of the country post-Taliban.